Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Northfork (2002)
Director: Michael Polish
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
The Great Plains, Montana, 1955: the town of Northfork is to be flooded for a dam project, and the government's six evacuation agents have two days to persuade those stubborn souls refusing to leave. One such is a bigamist building an ark; another a trigger-happy farmer; then there's Father Harlan (Nolte), caring for Irwin, an orphan who in fevered dreams meets and talks angelhood with a bunch of freaky eccentrics. Meanwhile, deathly questions also preoccupy two of the identically trench-coated agents: Walter (Woods) and son Willis (Polish) can't agree on whether to exhume, before the flood, a loved one left in Northfork cemetery. The 'magical realism' ladled on to this third part of the Polish Brothers' trilogy (after Twin Falls Idaho and Jackpot) is like treacle: sweet, sticky and finally far less appetising than it appears. The film does indeed look mostly attractive (a melange of Malick, Magritte and a little Lynch), even though Irwin's lost angels (Hannah, Edwards, and others), with their outlandish garb, gestures and characters, smack more of Burton in dispiritingly whimsical mood. Nolte does his disgruntled best with a maudlin role, and Woods alone gets what passes for comedy right. Targeting 'dreamlike', the Polishes partly succeed - but when were you last really touched by someone else's dream?Author: GA
Cast & crew
Director: Michael Polish
Producer: Mark Polish, Michael Polish
Cast: Peter Coyote, Anthony Edwards, Duel Farnes, Daryl Hannah, Nick Nolte, Mark Polish, James Woods, Joshuin Barker, Graham Beckel, Kyle MacLachlan, Claire Forlani full cast
Duration: 103 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
The Coens' 'Burn after Reading': review
Pitt and Clooney star in the Coen brothers' latest, 'Burn After Reading', which opened the 2008 Venice film festival
John C Reilly on ‘Step Brothers’
Method man turned slapstick comic John C Reilly talks to Time Out about his new film ‘Step Brothers’
Guy Ritchie on ‘RocknRolla’
Wally Hammond talks to Guy Ritchie about his latest film, ‘RocknRolla’ which sees him safely back in his old manor among the familiar carnival of villains, scams and high-octane spills and thrills
Saul Dibb on ‘The Duchess’
Dave Calhoun discovers from director Saul Dibb that his latest, 'The Duchess’ is far from your typical aristos-in-love movie
Opinion: Can George Lucas still make ‘small’ movies?
With the release of animated spin-off 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars', Tom Huddleston wonders whether George Lucas will ever return to his roots.







What do you think?
Post your review now